It's time for me to hang up the old board, and when I say old i mean old. Since high school (12 years ago) I've ridden the original santa cruz XX. The technology has come so far since then its time for me to upgrade. I'm a casual rider and would consider my self an intermediate level rider. I have no problem with control and mostly am a freeride/little bit of freestyle, no flips or massive air, some kickers and spins (and hopefully some rails and boxes this year). So its time to get a new deck and I'm currently looking at burton custom and custom X boards. which would be a better all around board for a mostly freeride style with a little bit of air mixed in, ie good pop, lightweight, and im not sure if i would want something with more feel or less, as well as stiff or flexible. Any input is greatly appreciated on this

Next ive used some calculators on here and it seems with me being 6'3" and 230 lbs i need a much larger board then i have been riding. My santa cruz was a 156 and the calculators say my size should be from 161 for a freestyle board to 166 for a freeride board. Is it going to be tough for me to transition to a 166? should i maybe go with a smaller board for the next few years like a 162 and see how that goes or just go with the 166 since most of my riding is freeride.

Last question I need to get new goggles for the day during sunny and cloudy/bright conditions. Polarized grey or a regular dark grey lens? The money isnt a concern but rather this taken from another site,
"POLARIZATION is also a factor...Lenses that are polarized reduce glare and reflection off the snow considerably,which generally is a GOOD thing...BUT be aware that it has a slight side effect... which is... a polarized lens sometimes makes it difficult to tell soft snow from hard ice...Be careful if you snowboard on sunny days in areas with variable snow conditions....Those transitions can be an accident waiting to happen... " I'm in new england and east coast riding can be full of icy spots everywhere so I'm not sure if I want to go with a polarized lens, or do the benefits simply outweigh the negatives.

As for your board choices, Customs are nice but there is a lot of tech out there for less money. If you want it, buy it. You could grab ANYTHING new and notice a huge improvement over a 12 year old deck. If you want an all round board I personally like the looks of Never Summers SL-R and Evo-R. The rocker is very light on it, rocker is fun, but imo it's sketchy landing kickers with. Both those boards are amazing for the money, but buy what you like. I ride a Signal Park Series and it's currently my favorite board of all time. It's super light and very flexible. It's great for everything but really fast grommers. Get what you like, don't blow the bank, but do a little research and grab something you like. Venture past Burton's website and check out Bataleon, Never Summer, Signal, Venture, Ride, Rome and whatever you can find. Don't let the new tech overwhelm you either. Just note that if you want something for all conditions don't go with "too much" rocker, I'd say keep it under 5mm.

If you're using that Frosty size calculator, it's pretty good. Anything else I've seen is a crock of shit. One tip is that height is almost not a factor at all. Also, with any calculator use your judgement and go with what you're comfortable with. If you had control and stability on that 156 get something similar. 10cm is a huge transition, and will have a learning curve. I wouldn't jump more than 5cm for the same conditions unless you gained like 35lbs or more. If you still ride the 156cm and you like it, get something 156-159 and you'll be fine as long as your feet fit on it.

I don't know a whole lot about goggles because I rarely wear them. But I wouldn't bother will polarized if you need to be seeing that ice. Yellow, Orange and Brown lens cut glare just fine. I usually wear RayBan driving series Aviators or nothing at all. If you ride around a tonne of rocks I don't recommend wearing glass lensed sun glasses though.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Feel free to ask me, or us, anything else you need. There are some really good "stickies" on fitting boots and board maintenance that are worth a read too. Peace man.

thanks for the info, im not really sure what rocker is or what it affects.

as far as the size i was never really fitted for the board. i liked the board and in high school i found one that had been used for a season at a local shop so i picked it up. didnt ask about sizing or anything then so ive never really been fit for one. in high school i was 165, then gained alot of weight during college, from working out and was up to 205 and now since i dont work out im at 230 =(. im thinking something between the 162 to 166 length. my feet never really fit on my board. size 12 boot so i always had 2.5" or so of toe drag, so im def going wide.

Having big feet can be annoying. But I recommend shopping for a new boot before buying anything else. New boots have a much smaller footprint, and are much less bulky. You might be able to fit into something closer to size 11 as well. Trust me, buy the boot first. Read the boot fitting guide too. Like 90% of riders out there are on a boot about half a size too big. But definitely get a boot first because you size your bindings and board based on them.

I have small feet and nearly took a shit when I realized I might need small bindings for my new boots. Luckily the boots I ended up with fit my 4 pairs of existing bindings. But I wasn't about to settle for bigger boots just to fit my current equipment either. Boots are the most important part of your set up. When you find the boot of your dreams you'll know what I'm saying. It will change the way you ride.

If you need a really wide board I know Ride makes crazy fat ones. But take your time picking something that fits your feet and riding needs.

sorry anor, i guess i neglected to mention. i have new boots and bindings that have about 10 sessions on them. i was fitted for these but didn't get a board at the time. now im ready for a new board as i plan on getting a lot of riding in this year

Sounds good. If you're all set with those boots and bindings you just need a board to fit them. Obviously you'll need something wide, but for big footed riders you'll probably have to look at some in person and bring your boot along. Only order online if you know the deck will support your boot size. Good luck, let us know what you decide on.